St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-29
AN ACT OF VADALISM.
Some Malicious Person Ruins Mr..
Phillips Valuable Portrait Of
Lawrence Barrett.

Some Malicious Person Ruins Mr..
Phillips Valuable Portrait Of
Lawrence Barrett.
A despicable act of vandalism was
perpetrated at the Ryan at an early hour
Thursday morning, resulting in the de-
struction of the oil painting of the ira
gedian Lawrence Barrett that has for
several months been an attractive feat
Cre in the vestibule of the Robert
street entrance to the hotel. The piet-
ure was the handiwerk and personal
property of the famous portrait painter,
M. j. Phillips, of this city, and the OBJ
ject of the perpetrator in despeiling this
work of art cannot be conceived, unless
1t grew out of some hostility to the
actor. Mr.. Phillips said last even
ing that he was not aware that
he had an enemy who would thus
desecrate one of his eanvases and he
would not rest satisfied until he dis
covered who had committed the act and
had the misereant justly punished, for
1t was penitentiary offense. An ex-
animation of the mutilated painting
which is now in the baggage room at
the hotel, shows that the work was done
methodically, but undoubtedly early
in the morning, and the cutting
was performed with sharp knife.
the face being cut out Of the canvas
and taken away; in his haste the person
who committed the crime slashing off a
piece of the right ear which remains in
the picture. When the scrub women
were cleaning up the vestibule Thurs
day morning, it became necessary to
move the easel upon which. the picture
rested, but at that time, about O'clock.
there were no marks indicative that the
picture had been tempered with in any
manner.
SIT must have been DONE" continued
Mr.. Phillips, ''between and 9 O'Clock
in the morning, for it has been deffn-
itely established by careful examination
that when The women left the Robert
street entrance about 4:30 o'clock the
picture was intact, and it could not
have been the result of a
DRUNKEN MANS FREAK,
for if such had been the case the per
himself with slashing his knife in
two or three portions of the canvas,
But no, an effort was made and care
full one, too, to effectually destroy the
painting and the fact that the portion
cut out was taken away, gives unmis-
taxable evidence of something more
than passing whim."
The picture was painted by me to
order for Mr.. Barrett, when he was in
st. Paul last spring and he gave me the
necessary sittings to make the likeness
as good as possible. Subsequently
made full length portrait of him, which
is now OH exhibition in New York. but
the life study, which l priced very
highly, retained for my private use.
1t was not for sale; in fact, I would not
place any intrinsic value upon it, but it
was something that l desired to pre-
serve. as much for my admiration of the
man it portrayed as anything else.,
Some persons have said, and with
desire to console me for
my loss. that it was not directed
against me, but against Barrett, and
probably by some rival actor who was
Jealous at seeing the picture so promi-
nently displayed. But this theory does
not impress me fayorably, although l
have heard from various sources that
professional people do not admire Mr..
Barrett, because, as they declare, he
is not only arrogant among his
brethren of the sock and buskin, but
misery in making contracts in the COM
position of his support. When the col
1ector was taking up the large photo
graphs in frames of Mr.. Barrett that
were displayed in the hotel Hobbies and
show windows of st. Paul last spring,
lie saw this picture in they estibule, and